Bend aligning and angle measuring device for large diameter pipe sections



- April 28, 1959 G. D. PAGE 2,883,751

- BEND ALIGNING AND ANGLE- MEASURING DEVICE F OR LARGE DIAMETER PIPESECTIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet I aim May 31,1956

JNVENTOR. GEORGE D. 1 PA as Arron/1 April 28, 1959 G. D. PAGE BENDALIGNING AND ANGLE MEASURING DEVICE FOR LARGE DIAMETER PIPE SECTIONSFiled May 31, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'IIII111!IIIIII I I IIIII IIIINVENTOR. G'EOR GE D. PA 65' ATTORNEY BEND ALIGNING AND ANGLE MEASURINGDE- VICE FOR LARGE DIAMETER PIPE SECTIONS George D. Page, Oskaloosa,Iowa Application May 31, 1956, Serial No. 588,414

6 Claims. (Cl. 33-46) This invention relates to the art of bending andaligning the ends of sections of large diameter pipe of the kind whichare finally placed, for the most part, underground, and the main objectis the provision of a novel, useful and practical bend aligning andangle measuring device to facilitate the installation of the pipe and tolessen substantially the consumption of time in carrying out theinstallation, with consequent economies.

The above broad as well as additional and more specific objects will beclarified in the following description wherein reference numerals referto like-numebered parts in the accompanying drawings. It is to be notedthat the drawings are intended solely for the purpose of illustrationand that it is therefore neither desired nor intended to limit theinvention necessarily to any or all of the exact details of constructionor operation shown or described except insofar as they may be deemedessential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view ofone end of a pipe of the kind above referred to, equipped with anembodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to Fig. 2, with partsbroken away and partly in section.

The present invention which consists in an attachment in duplicateadapted to be mounted on each of the straight end sections of a bentpipe, will first be described, and then the manner of operation and useof the same will be set forth.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral indicates a length orsection of large diameter pipe of the type mentioned, which has beenbent by a bending machine to provide a bend, predetermined by thesurveyor, to accommodate the pipe to join up with the next forward pipesection. Such bends as usually applied to a pipe section begin at apoint not less than five feet from the adjacent end of the section. Thebending machine advances in the direction of the pipe line, generally ata considerable distance ahead of the crew which lines up and welds allthe sections together. As a result, the crew frequently find that thepre-bent pipe which they are about to weld together does not have itsbend at an angle close enough to the required angle to connect properlywith the next forward section, so that the pipe must be again workedupon by the bending machine. This obviously entails an unnecessary andcostly delay, as the crew must remain idle while the bending machine isbrought back to correct the bend, and the entire procedure is thusretarded at considerable cost. The use of the present invention assuresthat the pipe will be properly bent for proper line-up end to end andthus eliminate such uneconomical delays.

The device of the present invention consists of two nited States Patent2,883,751 Patented Apr. 28, 1959 identical attachments 11 and 12; hencebut one will be described in detail but like reference numeralsindicating similar parts will be applied to both.

The attachment comprises a base composed of two spaced arcuate members,that is, side members, 13 and 14 which are curved to conform to thecontour of the pipe and have a length of arc of substantially 180degrees, together with two end members 15, all together forming a frameof the base. The arcuate members 13 and 14 are angle-shaped with theupright flanges 16 thereof having arcuate slots 17 therein. A carriage18 has outward extensions or rollers 19 riding in the slots 17. Thecarriage is likewise arcuate and is elongated through an are somewhat inexcess of degrees. Near the upper end of the carriage a sighting post 20is mounted and extends radially therefrom. At an arcuate distance of 90degrees from the post 20, a second similar sighting post 21 is similarlymounted.

Adjacent the top sighting post 20 a bubble level 22 is mounted on thecarriage, to indicate when the carriage is so positioned that the post20 is truly in a vertical plane through, as will become apparent below,the axis of the straight end portion of the pipe. On the other side ofthe carriage and in alignment with the post 20 and the bubble of thelevel when the latter indicates that the post 20 is in the said verticalplane, is a notched indicator or pointer 23 positioned close to theunderside of the base frame of the device and it is secured by its upperdeformed end to the carriage. The entire device is mounted on the pipe10 merely by positioning it thereon substantially as shown and it willremain in position by gravity. If desired, a small counterweight, notshown, may be attached to the upper end of the frame 10, or theundersides of the frame may be wholly or partly coated with frictionenhancing means such as, for example, a rubber compound, not shown. Athumb screw locking means, shown at 24, is provided to releasably lockthe carriage against longitudinal movement.

It is now apparent that, assuming the carriage to be positioned in itstrack so that the post 20 is truly vertical, the post 21 will then betruly horizontal. If the two attachments 11 and 12 are thus mounted onthe straight end portion 10a of a bent pipe section, with both posts 20truly vertical, these posts will lie in a vertical plane through theaxis of the pipe portion 10a. If, then, the pipe is marked at the spotindicated by each pointer 23, and the attachments are removed, a linemay be drawn or painted between the two points, which will lie in thesaid vertical plane through the axis of the pipe portion 10a and willindicate the true uppermost linear portion of the pipe. In other words,the section can be properly lined up for welding when this line isuppermost. Thus, since, as above set forth, the pipe has been bent sometime before the pipe line-up-and-weld crew reaches it, it will be asimple matter to position the section properly, for often it isextremely difficult if not impossible to be certain that eye-work alonehas judged correctly the top of the pipe as it is to be joined, in pipesof such large diameter, regardless of whether it is a regular bend or acombination bend.

T 0 check the correctness of a bend, the device is used as follows. Itis well known that after a bent section has been lined up with the nextrearward bend, it is necessary that the forward straight portion of thesection point in the proper direction to line up with the next forwardbend. If a third post, not shown, is positioned vertically at aconsiderable distance, say several hundred feet, ahead of the pipesection in proper position, that is, in a position into which thesection end 10a is to point when welded, by sighting between the threeposts (the distant post and the two posts 20), the degree of error, ifany, in the direction or angle of the bend can be readily determined.Assuming that the posts 2% are positioned four feet apart and that thesighter is positioned four feet rearward of the rearward post 2% andthat the distant post is 300 feet away, the angle of error in the bendmay be readily calculated, and if it is greater than the allowable errorfor practical purposes the bend must be corrected.

At any position along the pipe line between bends, through a distanceof, say, 300 feet, the average line of the bottom of the trench which isto receive the pipe, will usually be parallel with the ground. Also,since the distant pole (which has every odd foot painted red and everyeven foot painted white) is placed five feet from the trench, one degreeof horizontal error is equal to the distance of the pole from thetrench. By sighting the horizontal posts of the attachments 11 and 12with the distant pole, it is thus obvious that the proper horizontalposition of the section portion 19a can also be readily checked.

it is not believed necessary to enter into a discussion of engineeringor mathematical calculations which may be involved in the application ofthe present device, as they are well known to those involved in theirapplication and do not form a part of the invention as illustrated inthe drawings.

1 claim:

1. A device of the class described adapted to be mounted on the straightend of a pipe having a bend spaced from said end, comprising an arcuatebase having the conformation of the pipe and an arcuate length ofapproximately 180 degrees, said base having an arcuate carriageconcentric with the base longitudinally movably mounted thereon, saidcarriage having a radial post near one end thereof and a second radialpost longitudinally spaced ninety degrees from the first-named post, andmeans for releasably locking the carriage against longitudinal movementon the base, the device being adapted to be mounted concentrically onthe pipe with one of said posts in approximately vertical positionwhence by movement of the carriage said one of said posts may bepositioned in vertical position, said base including parallel arcuateside members having longitudinal slots therein, said carriage havingoutward projections registering in said slots.

2. A device of the class described adapted to be mounted on the straightend of a pipe having a bend spaced from said end, a first attachmentcomprising an arcuate base having the conformation of the pipe and anarcuate length of approximately 180 degrees, said base having an arcuatecarriage concentric with the base longitudinally movably mountedthereon, said carriage having a radial post near one end thereof and asecond radial post longitudinally spaced ninety degrees from thefirstnamed post, and means for releasably locking the carriage againstlongitudinal movement on the base, the device being adapted to bemounted concentrically on the pipe with one of said posts inapproximately vertical position whence by movement of the carriage saidone of said posts may be positioned in vertical position, a secondattachment identical to said first attachment similarly mounted on saidend of the pipe and spaced from said first named attachment, the base ofeach of said attachments including parallel arcuate side members havinglongitudinal slots therein, the carriages having outward projectionsregistering in said slots.

3. A device of the class described adapted to be mounted on the straightend of a pipe having a bend spaced from said end, comprising an arcuatebase having the conformation of the pipe and an arcuate length ofapproximately 180 degrees, said base having an arcuate carriageconcentric with the base longitudinally movably mounted thereon, saidcarriage having a radial post near one end thereof and a second radialpost longitudinally spaced ninety degrees from the first-named post, andmeans for releasably locking the carriage against longitudinal movementon the base, the device being adapted to be mounted concentrically onthe pipe with one of said posts in approximately vertical positionwhence by movement of the carriage said one of said posts may bepositioned in vertical position, said carriage having a bubble levelthereon spaced laterally from said one of said posts and having thebubble thereof adapted to be centered in the intersection of a planethrough one of said posts and the axis of curvature of the carriage witha plane at right angles to said first-named post whence said one of saidposts is vertical and the other of said posts is horizontal when thebubble is centered in the level.

4. A device of the class described adapted to be mounted on the straightend of a pipe having a bend seed from said end, comprising an arcuatebase having the conformation of the pipe and an arcuate length ofapproximately degrees, said base having an arcuate carriage concentricwith the base longitudinally movably mounted thereon, said carriagehaving a radial post near one end thereof and a second radial postlongitudinally spaced ninety degrees from the first-named post, andmeans for releasably locking the carriage against longitudinal movementon the base, the device being adapted to be mounted concentrically onthe pipe with one of said posts in approximately vertical positionwhence by movement of the carriage said one of said posts may bepositioned in vertical position, said carriage having a bubble levelthereon spaced laterally from said one of said posts and having thebubble thereof adapted to be centered in the intersection of a planethrough one of said posts and the axis of curvature of the carriage witha plane at right angles to said first-named plane whence said one ofsaid posts is vertical and the other I of said posts is horizontal whenthe bubble is centered in the level, said carriage having a pointersecured thereto extending from one side thereof positioned in saidfirstnamed plane and close to the lower edge of the base to indicate apoint on the top of the pipe in the vertical plane of the pipe axis whensaid one of said posts is positioned vertically as aforesaid so that amark may be placed on the pipe at that point.

5. A device of the class described adapted to be mounted on the straightend of a pipe having a bend spaced from said end, a first attachmentcomprising an arcuate base having the conformation of the pipe and anarcuate length of approximately 180 degrees, said base having an arcuatecarriage concentric with the base longitudinally movably mountedthereon, said carriage having a radial post near one end thereof and asecond radial post longitudinally spaced ninety degrees from thefirstnamed post, and means for releasably locking the carriage againstlongitudinal movement on the base, the device being adapted to bemounted concentrically on the pipe with one of said posts inapproximately vertical position whence by movement of the carriage saidone of said posts may be positioned in vertical position, a secondattachment identical to said first attachment similarly mounted on saidend of the pipe and spaced from said first attachment, the carriage ofeach of said attachments having a bubble level thereon spaced laterallyfrom said one of said posts and having the bubble thereof adapted to becentered in the intersection of a plane through said one of said postsand the axis of curvature of the carriage with a plane at right anglesto said firstnamed plane whence said one of said posts is vertical andthe other of said posts is horizontal when the bubble is centered in thelevel.

6. A device of the class described adapted to be mounted on the straightend of a pipe having a bend spaced from said end, a first attachmentcomprising an arcuate base having the conformation of the pipe and anarcuate length of approximately 180 degrees, said base having an arcuatecarriage concentric with the base longitudinally movably mountedthereon, said carriage having a radial post near one end thereof and asecond radial post longitudinally spaced ninety degrees from thefirstnamed post, and means for releasably locking the carriage againstlongitudinal movement on the base, the device being adapted to bemounted concentrically on the pipe with one of said posts inapproximately vertical position whence by movement of the carriage saidone of said posts may be positioned in vertical position, a secondattachment identical to said first attachment similarly mounted on saidend of the pipe and spaced from said first attachment, the carriage ofeach of said attachments having a bubble level thereon spaced laterallyfrom said one of said posts and having the bubble thereof adapted to becentered in the intersection of a plane through said one of said postsand the axis of curvature of the carriage with a plane at right anglesto said firstnamed plane whence said one of said posts is vertical andthe other of said posts is horizontal when the bubble is centered in thelevel, the carriage of each of said attachments having a pointer thereonextending from one side thereof positioned in said first-named plane andnear the lower edge of the base to indicate a point on the top of thepipe in the vertical plane of the pipe axis when said one of said postsis positioned vertically as aforesaid so that a mark may be placed onthe pipe at that point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS685,455 Kinkead Oct. 29, 1901 742,077 Sovelius Oct. 20, 1903 2,088,539Stokenbury July 27, 1937 2,553,571 Frans et a1. May 22, 1951 2,636,273Morris Apr. 28, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 496,541 Great Britain Dec. 1, 1938

